东方不亮西方亮 dōng fāng bù liàng xī fāng liàng

if something doesn't work here, it might work somewhere else

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. if something doesn't work here, it might work somewhere else
  2. 2. if it isn't bright in the east, it'll be bright in the west (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
east; surname Dong
method; direction; side
not; no; (negative prefix)
bright; clear; to shine
west; the West; abbr. for Spain 西xī bān yá
method; direction; side
bright; clear; to shine